It is common to display consumer electronics (cell phones, tablet devices, etc.) in retail stores by mounting them to posts or similar structures on display countertops. The hand-held is typically tethered to the display. One common form of tethering involves cable reels or “retractors.”
The present disclosure relates to a means for locking a retractor in place, from free rotation, while the retractor's cable or tether is retracted. Retractors in the anti-theft industry are often spring-loaded so that they naturally or automatically pull the cable back into the retractor's housing, after a consumer lifts and returns a tethered hand-held to and from the display. Sometimes, however, the retailer wants the tether “locked down” from extension from the retractor. Because the tether may be the only physical attachment between the product and a display base, an extended tether offers something that is easy to cut by a thief in the store. Locking the tether in retracted mode keeps the product close to the base, but with the tether shielded or in a wound condition such that it is not easy to access for cutting.
As described below, the present disclosure provides a lock-down mechanism that accomplishes the above function.